How can you cure agoraphobia

However, even people with disabling and long-term agoraphobia typically have positive results and improvements through professional help. Relaxation techniques are self-help strategies that can help alleviate your feelings of anxiety.

These techniques can assist in easing tension throughout the body and relaxing any nervousness of the mind. Relaxation techniques can be easily learned from home and at your own pace. Start practicing these strategies to manage panic attacks, reduce negative thoughts and elicit your relaxation response.

Desensitization is a popular coping technique that can be learned on your own or through therapy. Desensitization works by helping you gradually unlearn your fears. Desensitization begins by gradually imaging yourself in anxiety-provoking situations while learning how to relax through your feelings of apprehension.

While picturing yourself in places or situations that typically trigger panic attacks, you will use a relaxation technique to work through your fears and anxieties. Over time, you may be able to visualize yourself in feared situations and yet feel in control of your anxiety. Stress can be a major source of anxiety. Stress has been known to contribute to many physical and mental health problems.

To reduce your panic and anxiety symptoms, learn some stress management techniques. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Symptoms - panic attacks. Cleveland Clinic. Panic Disorder: Management and Treatment. Reviewed February 1, National Institute on Mental Health. Panic Disorder: When Fear Overwhelms. Updated The development of agoraphobia is associated with the symptoms and location of a patient's first panic attack.

Biopsychosoc Med. Biol Psychiatry. Psychological treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia: a randomized controlled trial to examine the role of therapist-guided exposure in situ in CBT. J Consult Clin Psychol. Reducing the symptomatology of panic disorder: the effects of a yoga program alone and in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Front Psychiatry. Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy integrated with systematic desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy combined with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy combined with virtual reality exposure therapy methods in the treatment of flight anxiety: a randomized trial.

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms, including when they started and how often you experience them. They may also perform blood tests to help rule out physical causes for your symptoms. The DSM is a manual often used by healthcare providers to diagnose mental health conditions. You must feel intense fear or anxiety in two of more of the following situations to be diagnosed with agoraphobia:. There are additional criteria for a diagnosis of panic disorder with agoraphobia.

You must have recurrent panic attacks, and at least one panic attack must have been followed by:. There are a number of different treatments for agoraphobia. Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, involves meeting with a therapist or other mental health professional on a regular basis.

This gives you the opportunity to talk about your fears and any issues that may be contributing to your fears. Psychotherapy is often combined with medications for optimum effectiveness. Cognitive behavioral therapy CBT is the most common form of psychotherapy used to treat people with agoraphobia. CBT can help you understand the distorted feelings and views associated with agoraphobia.

It can also teach you how to work through stressful situations by replacing the distorted thoughts with healthy thoughts, allowing you to regain a sense of control in your life. Exposure therapy can also help you overcome your fears. This may make your fear diminish over time. You may want to try:. However, early treatment for anxiety or panic disorders may help.

With treatment, you have a good chance of getting better. This disorder can be quite debilitating since it prevents you from participating in everyday activities. Learn how to recognize a panic attack and get help to…. Emetophobia or fear of vomit can make daily tasks, including eating and cooking, distressing. We'll go over symptoms and potential causes before…. Somniphobia refers to an extreme fear of sleep or going to bed. We'll go over common symptoms, potential causes, and the most effective treatment….

For this reason, your doctor likely will gradually increase your dose during treatment, and slowly decrease your dose when he or she feels you're ready to stop taking medication. Certain dietary and herbal supplements claim to have calming and anti-anxiety benefits. Before you take any of these for agoraphobia, talk with your doctor. Although these supplements are available without a prescription, they still pose possible health risks.

For example, the herbal supplement kava, also called kava kava, appeared to be a promising treatment for anxiety, but there have been reports of serious liver damage, even with short-term use. Avoid using any product that contains kava until more-rigorous safety studies are done, especially if you have liver problems or take medications that affect your liver.

Living with agoraphobia can make life difficult. Professional treatment can help you overcome this disorder or manage it effectively so that you don't become a prisoner to your fears. If you have agoraphobia, you may be too afraid or embarrassed to go to your doctor's office. Consider starting with a phone call to your doctor or a mental health professional, or ask a trusted family member or friend to go with you to your appointment.

Your doctor will likely ask you a number of questions. Be ready to answer them to reserve time to go over any points you want to focus on. Your doctor may ask:. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis Agoraphobia is diagnosed based on: Signs and symptoms In-depth interview with your doctor or a mental health professional Physical exam to rule out other conditions that could be causing your symptoms Criteria for agoraphobia listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5 , published by the American Psychiatric Association.

More Information Cognitive behavioral therapy Psychotherapy. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic.